The MotoGP model that proves F1 B-teams' worth

F1's history with customer cars has been contradictory throughout the decades, and the development of B-teams has led to scorn inside and outside F1. But a glance at MotoGP shows how they can be key to F1's future

The jury was always out on customer cars in Formula 1. A huge part of the category's formative years, in which private entrants frequently bought up machinery from the likes of Lotus and March, 21st-century variants were looked upon with greater disdain.

Some weren't particularly happy that the Super Aguri team could get away with buying up previous-spec Hondas, or that Toro Rosso could use the same car as sister squad Red Bull. The resulting opposition nipped a potential Prodrive entry in the bud, having agreed a deal with McLaren to buy its cars for 2008.